The Institutional Floodgates Open: Crypto’s Most Pivotal Two Weeks of 2025
This special edition merges the last two weeks of market developments into a single, comprehensive briefing. Institutions made historic moves, prediction markets hit escape velocity, and crypto infrastructure delivered major breakthroughs — all while volatility put pressure on the ecosystem’s biggest players. From Vanguard ending its decade-long crypto freeze to Kalshi’s $11B valuation and Polymarket’s return to the U.S., this episode breaks down the forces reshaping digital assets heading into 2026.
In this episode:
🏦 Institutional Acceleration
- Vanguard ends its crypto freeze, opening ETF access to 50M clients.
- NYSE Arca lists DOGE & XRP ETFs; Chainlink ETF signals emerge.
- Merrill now recommends 1–4% crypto exposure.
- BlackRock spotlights tokenization in its 2026 outlook.
- Major U.S. banks pilot stablecoin + custody rails with Coinbase.
🔮 Prediction Markets Break Out
- Kalshi raises $1B at an $11B valuation; becomes 2025’s breakout exchange.
- CNN integrates Kalshi probabilities across global broadcasts.
- Polymarket secures CFTC approval to operate in the U.S. (via brokers/FCMs).
- QCX acquisition closes; early signals of a native token.
- Regulatory friction: Connecticut Cease & Desist + SDNY class-action.
🧱 Core Infrastructure Leaps Forward
- Monad mainnet launches post-$269M token sale (1.43x oversubscribed).
- Insider-heavy allocation (>50%) triggers early volatility concerns.
- Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade cuts L2 costs & boosts throughput.
⚠️ Market Stress & Corporate Defense
- Strategy builds a $1.44B cash buffer to avoid forced BTC liquidation.
- Tether pushes back against S&P’s stability downgrade.
